Hopkins Businessman Charged with Improperly Disposing of Hazardous Waste

Prosecutors accuse ’ general manager of illegally disposing of TVs and cathode ray tubes at the Hopkins business, according to a news release from the Hennepin County Attorney’s office.

Curtis Weston Hilleren, 68, of St. Louis Park, faces a felony charge of unlawful disposal of hazardous waste, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

“It is illegal to discard television sets and computer monitors with cathode ray tubes in the trash because they contain a large amount of lead,” the news release stated. “If disposed of improperly, lead in the environment can pollute air and water, harm wildlife and pose a threat to human health, particularly the brain development of children.”

Hilleren first came to investigators’ attention in 2009 when Matt Petersen, a staff environmentalist with Hennepin County Department of Environmental Services, found a cathode ray tube (CRT) in the company’s garbage bin, Petersen wrote in the charging documents. Petersen ordered the company to remove it and document how that wouldn’t happen again.

On Aug. 29, 2011, the Department of Environmental Services received a complaint that Hilleren had improperly disposed of hazardous waste. When Petersen went to investigate, he found a roll-off box with the plastic outer cases of CRTs and TVs and what appeared to be broken CRTs in the bottom of a box scheduled to be taken to a local landfill.

Electronic Salvage Industries advertises that it follows a “strict no land fill policy” and offers services “exceeding state and federal regulations to keep our communities protected,” according to the court documents.

Hilleren initially said he didn’t know who the box belonged to but eventually acknowledged it belonged to the company.

Two days later, he called the Department of Environmental Services and admitted that he “screwed up.” During subsequent questioning Sept. 1, he estimated CRT waste totaled between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds.

Tests found the lead content in the garbage bin was 122 mg/L or 24 times the legal limit of 5 mg/L.

“Hilleren ignored warnings and deliberately continued to pollute our environment,” the news release quoted Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman. “All of us, and especially our grandchildren, cannot tolerate these crass acts of pollution.”

Hilleren’s first court appearance is expected to be scheduled soon.

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